The Stockyards That Were Really About Raising the Value of Sand and Sagebrush

Kennewick has been accused of butting into the stock yards game in an attempt to grab what rightfully belongs to Pasco because of the months of promotion work which has been devoted to the effort.

As we size up the situation Kennewick is not in any sense a competitor for the things for which Pasco is working in this instance. The two stock yards propositions are so different as to preclude the possibility of competition between the two. Kennewick is not exerting its efforts for the purpose of selling anybody’s sand-blown desert land, or for supplying one railroad with a greatly needed feed yard for the stock shipped over its lines, or for providing a buying yard for one packer who, unfortunately, is now under the necessity of buying in yards located in rival cities.

If the so-called Pasco proposition is analyzed it will be found that the three moving forces back of it are just these: First, if the stock yards plan can be put through, the owners of several hundred acres of waste land near the mouth of the Snake river will have placed a value upon holdings which otherwise are practically worthless; second, the Northern Pacific has long been in need of yards at Pasco where stock being shipped over its lines could be unloaded for feed and water. In fact, Pasco has long been the worry of the stock shipper because of the poor facilities for feed and water. Here is an opportunity not only for the Northern Pacific to get the yards but to have someone else share the expense of building them; third, Carstens has large property holdings in and around Pasco. He has a large ranch up the river from Pasco, acres of city lots in the town and it may be he owns some land down at the mouth of Snake river. Anyway, he has no stockyards in Tacoma where his packing plant is located and is forced to buy in yards located in the cities of his competitors. Here is an opportunity for him to kill three birds with one stone—someone else to share the expense of building yards which he could dominate and control and from which he could drive stock to his ranch and at the same time perhaps quicken a market for a lot of dead-weight real estate.

When all the facts are known it will be found that these are the three and only contributing forces to the Ainsworth stock yards movement, for be it known the proposed yards are to be located at Ainsworth and not at Pasco. As a matter of fact the proposed site for the Kennewick yards is a mile nearer Pasco than is Ainsworth, which is distant four miles of sand and sagebrush.

Other than the three reasons named we challenge anybody, even the promoters of the Ainsworth plan, to cite one single reason why stock yards should be built among the sand dunes four miles from anywhere.

No, Kennewick does not wish to qualify as Pasco’s rival in this instance. Kennewick does not desire to put forth any effort to find a sale for anybody’s barren real estate, or to build stock yards for any railroad company or any packer. If conditions on this side of the river are not suitable for the building of stock yards that can be reached by all railroads, that can be patronized by all packers and buyers and used by all growers on an equality, we do not want the stock yards, for yards not so located will be doomed to failure.